Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Hospitality visits suffer as weekend revellers cut back

Published: 22 March, 2024

Visits to the on-trade are taking a tumble as consumers cut two nights’ worth of out of home eating and drinking down to one, new research reveals.

Customer loyalty reins supreme in cost-of-living crisis

Published: 31 October, 2023

New research has unveiled the importance of providing consistently good experiences in hospitality, with nearly half of consumers saying just one or two bad experiences at a hospitality venue would cause them to feel less loyal to a brand.

Scotland’s call to government as hospitality faces ‘continued barrage of challenges’

Published: 03 October, 2023

The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) is pleading for more support to help protect the hospitality sector, as venues report the crippling impact of staff vacancies and ‘a continued wave of cost increases’.

Premium drinks stand tall amid against cost-of-living crisis

Published: 31 August, 2023

Premium alcohol brands are continuing to gather pace in the face of a mounting global cost of living crisis, new analysis suggests, with aspirational drinking still very much on top form.

Fall in incomes hits hospitality as operators absorb costs

Published: 03 July, 2023

New data has highlighted the effect of rising cost of borrowing on spending in the hospitality sector, as consumers’ real income falls.

40% of Brits struggling to cope on salaries, new data finds

Published: 21 June, 2023

Consumers are hitting the pause buttons on their lives as the cost of living continues to encroach on the most basic part of household incomes, new data has found.

Hospitality at odds: Footfall high, profits down

Published: 08 June, 2023

New research reveals robust demand among consumers for eating and drinking out, despite the rocketing cost of household bills. However, it seems businesses are not exactly reaping the rewards; and with more cost increases on the horizon, with the new duty rises set for 1 August, hospitality is facing a tough summer.

Rise and rise of inflation leaves business with difficult choices

Published: 24 March, 2023

UK industry has been left reeling once again following another inflation spike and subsequent interest rates hike, as the ever-increasing price of food and drink continues to stretch the nation’s purse strings as well as the cost of its collective shopping basket.

Inflation survey: squeezed in the middle

Published: 13 January, 2023

With inflationary pressures bearing down and the cost of living crisis biting, Harpers invited indies to respond to our Dealing with Price Inflation survey, to build a picture of how merchants are coping and what increases are being introduced. Andrew Catchpole rounds up the feedback.

UK's leading restaurants nudge back into the black

Published: 09 January, 2023

Research unveiled by accountancy group UHY Hacker Young shows that the UK's top 100 restaurants returned to profitability in 2022, after four years of consecutive losses.